Best Rugby Club

St. Louis Bombers

St. Louis has a slew of rugby clubs, but only one  the St. Louis Bombers  claims bragging rights to membership in the USA Rugby Super League, the national circuit for club teams. And though it took four and a half decades to get there, Bombers coach Ron Laszewski couldn't be more pleased entering his squad's third year in league contention. "There are three to four teams that have a lot of money behind them and can bring in more players and are very tough to beat. Then the middle ten teams are all about the same  anybody could beat anybody  and that's right where we are," says Laszewski. One Bomber, Hayden Mexted, a Kiwi, is making his sixth appearance this year with the U.S. national team. Still, the Bombers pride themselves on developing talent locally. They run squads for women, youth and "Masters" (old guys), as well as a B roster. The home field, Sportport in Maryland Heights, is a cool place to spend a Saturday afternoon admiring the fine masculine specimens in a scrum while guzzling some Bermudan Gosling's Rum (a Bombers sponsor). Lest one think the Bombers have less fun than some of the more, shall we say, social rugby clubs in town, Laszewski notes, "We enjoy our beer, and we always make sure there's food and liquid refreshment after the game."